Joseph Ellis
Joseph Ellis in 2007
Born	1943 (1943)
Occupation	Professor
Nationality	United States
Genres	History
Notable work(s)	Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation

For the basketball player, see Joe Ellis

Joseph John Ellis (born 1943) is a Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College who has written influential and award-winning histories on the founding generation of American presidents. His book Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (2000) received the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2001.

Contents 1 Background and teaching 2 Jefferson and Hemings 3 Vietnam war 4 On former president George W. Bush 5 Awards 6 Publications 6.1 Books 6.2 Editorials 7 Notes 8 External links

[edit] Background and teaching

He received his B.A. from the College of William and Mary, where he was initiated into Theta Delta Chi. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University in 1969. He served in the United States Army and also taught at West Point until 1972.

That year Ellis joined the faculty at Mount Holyoke College. He is the former dean of faculty at Mount Holyoke and also served as Acting President for part of 1984 while President Elizabeth Topham Kennan was on leave.

[edit] Jefferson and Hemings

Ellis in his book American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson suggested that evidence for an affair between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings was "inconclusive".^[1] Specifically, Ellis states in the appendix to American Sphinx,

Unless the trustees of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation decide to exhume the remains and do DNA testing on Jefferson as well as some of his alleged progeny, it leaves the matter a mystery about which advocates on either side can freely speculate... This means that for those who demand an answer the only recourse is plausible conjecture, prefaced as it must be with profuse statements about the flimsy and wholly circumstantial character of the evidence. In that spirit, which we might call the spirit of responsible speculation, after five years mulling over the huge cache of evidence that does exist on the thought and character of the historical Jefferson, I have concluded that the likelihood of a liaison with Sally Hemings is remote.^[2]

On November 5, 1998, Dr. Eugene Foster published an article, "Jefferson Fathered Slave's Last Child", in the weekly journal Nature. Foster reported that DNA testing proved that a male from the Thomas Jefferson line was the father of Sally Hemings's son Eston. Given that, he believed that Thomas Jefferson was the father of Eston and probably Hemings' other children.^[3]

On November 2, 1998, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer featured this topic and stated, "According to an article in an upcoming issue of the journal Nature, DNA analysis shows that Jefferson almost certainly fathered at least one of Sally Hemings' children, her last son, Eston."^[4] Ellis, who was interviewed during this broadcast, stated that he had revised his opinion due to this new evidence:

It's not so much a change of heart, but this is really new evidence. And it—prior to this evidence, I think it was a very difficult case to know and circumstantial on both sides, and, in part, because I got it wrong, I think I want to step forward and say this new evidence constitutes, well, evidence beyond any reasonable doubt that Jefferson had a longstanding sexual relationship with Sally Hemings.^[5]

[edit] Vietnam war

Ellis became the subject of controversy when the Boston Globe published an article on June 18, 2001, revealing that he had lied about fighting in the Vietnam War (he served in uniform in America but did not go to Vietnam as he had claimed to students and to the media).^[6] Ellis issued a public apology in August.^[7] Mount Holyoke suspended him from his endowed chair until further review, as well as from teaching during the 2001-2002 academic year.^[8] In May 2005, Mount Holyoke restored his chair.^[9]

[edit] On former president George W. Bush

Ellis is quoted as saying "I think President Bush might very well be the worst president in U.S. history".^[10][11] He further stated that President Bush has very few achievements on the positive side.^[10] Ellis was also critical of the tone set by the Bush administration in its reaction to September 11 attacks. ^[12]

[edit] Awards

• 2001 Pulitzer Prize for History for Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation ^[13]
• 1997 National Book Award (nonfiction) winner for American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson.

[edit] Publications

[edit] Books

• American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic, 2007.^[14]
• His Excellency: George Washington, 2004.
• After the Revolution: Profiles of Early American Culture, 2002.
• Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, 2000.
• What Did the Declaration Declare? (Historians at Work), 1999.
• American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson, 1996.
• Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams, 1993.
• School for Soldiers: West Point and the Profession of Arms, 1974.
• The New England Mind in Transition: Samuel Johnson of Connecticut, 1696–1772, 1973.

[edit] Editorials

• "'The better angels' side with Obama: The candidate's appeal to a more unified electorate rings historically true" - Los Angeles Times (Jan. 19, 2008)
• "A promise of unpredictability: Presidential candidates pledge a lot, but history says you can ignore most of it" - Los Angeles Times (Jan. 2, 2008)
• "What Would George Do?: Okay, He Never Saw a Chopper, but He Can Still Teach Us a Thing or Two." - Washington Post (Dec. 23, 2007)
• "Finding a Place for 9/11 in American History" - New York Times (Jan. 28, 2006)

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Biography from The Pulitzer Board
• Biography from Mount Holyoke